Resident Director Brian Pastor has announced the cast for THE PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD – a classic comedy that has spurred a film, musical, and even an operatic adaptation. It all started when Christy Mahon came into Flaherty's tavern on the west coast of Ireland claiming to have killed his father with a loy (shovel). Charmed by his boldness and daring, he becomes a local hero--until the old man shows up. Premiering in 1907, the play caused fist-fights when it was transferred to New York. Directed by Brian Pastor, THE PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD will open to the press on Sunday, July 10 at 3 pm at City Lit Theater, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave. Chicago 60660 (Inside Edgewater Presbyterian Church) following previews from July 1. It will play through August 14.
THE PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD cast includes Joshua Servantez (he/him, Christy Mahon), Adam Bitterman (he/him, Old Mahon), Brenda Wlazlo (she/her, Widow Quin), Michaela Voit (she/her, Pegeen Mike), Matt Rosin (he/him, Michael Flaherty), Madelyn Loehr (she/her, Sara Tansey), Greta Geiser (they/them, Honor Blake), Sophia Vitello (she/her, Susan Brady), Mary Margaret McCormack (she/her, Nelly McCormick), Brandon Beach (he/him, Shawn Keogh) , Kyle Burch, (he/him, Philly Cullen), Linsey Falls (he/him, Jimmy Farrell), and Richard Menges (he/him, Harpist).
Top row L-R: Brandon Beach, Adam Bitterman, Kyle Burch, Linsey Falls.
Second row L-R: Greta Geiser, Madelyn Loehr, Mary Margaret McCormack, Richard Menges.
Third row L-R: Matt Rosin, Joshua Servantez, Sophia Vitello, Michaela Voit.
Fourth row: Brenda Wlazlo.
The production team for THE PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD, in addition to Brian Pastor as director, includes Jeremiah Barr (he/him, Scenic and Properties Designer), Liz Cooper (she/her, Lighting Designer), kClare McKellaston (she/her, Costume Designer), Carrie Hardin (she/her, Dialect Coach), David Yondorf (he/him, Violence Designer), Samantha Barr (she/her, Production Manager), Evan Sposato (he/him, Technical Director), and Anna Petersen (Scenic Painter).
LISTING INFORMATION
THE PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD
by John Millington Synge
directed by Brian Pastor
July 1 – August 14, 2022
Previews July 1 - 9, 2022
Preview ticket prices $30.00, seniors $25.00, students and military $12.00 (all plus applicable fees)
PRESS OPENING Sunday, July 10 - 3 pm
Regular run July 10 – August 14, 2022
Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm, Sundays at 3 pm. Mondays August 1 and 8 at 7:30 pm
Regular run ticket prices $34.00, seniors $29.00, students and military $12 (all plus applicable fees)
Performances at City Lit Theater, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave. Chicago 60660 (Inside Edgewater Presbyterian Church)
Info and tickets at www.citylit.org and by phone at 773-293-3682.
Christy Mahon comes into Flaherty's tavern on the west coast of Ireland and claims to have killed his father with a shovel. The locals are charmed by his boldness and daring, and he becomes a local hero--until the old man shows up. The play's world premiere triggered three nights of riots in Dublin, and fistfights in the aisles when it transferred to New York. City Lit's audience is much better behaved.
BIOS
Brian Pastor (they/them, Director) is Resident Director at City Lit Theater, where they directed their acclaimed adaptation of Robert Kennedy’s THIRTEEN DAYS in fall 2021 and previously directed George Bernard Shaw’s ARMS AND THE MAN and Archibald MacLeish’s J.B.. Brian also served as Managing Director of City Lit from 2006 to 2015. They are founder and Emeritus Artistic Director of Promethean Theatre Ensemble, where they directed THE LION IN WINTER, THE WINTER’S TALE, and GROSS INDECENCY: THE THREE TRIALS OF OSCAR WILDE (all Broadway World Award Nominated-Best Director); as well as HENRY V and THE DARK SIDE OF THE BARD. This past winter, Brian directed the world premiere of THE BLACK KNIGHT by Angeli Primlani, the inaugural show for Lifeboat Productions. As an actor, Brian has worked with Strawdog, Raven, WildClaw, Promethean, Accomplice, and City Lit, among others. Brian is the Executive Director of Sideshow Theatre and the former Executive Director of Raven Theatre. They also served as a board and company member of The Mime Company and were a founding company member of Chicago dell’Arte. Additionally, Brian is a published fiction writer and playwright whose work has been performed on three continents.
John Millington Synge, (Playwright) was an Irish poet and playwright who by the start of the 20th century had helped rediscover and redefine the spirit of native Ireland and introduce to its theatre a realism sympathetic to the working class. A founding playwright of the Abbey Theatre, a.k.a. the National Theatre of Ireland, his best-known work is perhaps THE PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD, a landmark exploration of morality and Romance that resulted in Irish nationalist riots. City Lit produced Synge’s DIERDRE OF THE SORROWS in fall, 2017.
ABOUT CITY LIT
For over forty-one years, City Lit Theater has been dedicated to the vitality and accessibility of the literary imagination. City Lit produces theatrical adaptations of literary material, scripted plays by language-oriented playwrights, and original material. City Lit Theater was founded with $210 pooled by Arnold Aprill (at the time the Body Politic Theatre’s box office manager), David Dillon, and Lorell Wyatt on October 9, 1979, and was incorporated on March 25, 1980. There were still so few theatres in Chicago that at City Lit’s launch event, they were able to read a congratulatory letter they had received from Tennessee Williams.
City Lit is in the historic Edgewater Presbyterian Church building at 1020 West Bryn Mawr Avenue. We are two blocks east of both the Bryn Mawr Red Line stop and the #36 Broadway and the #84 Peterson buses. We are one block west of the #147 Sheridan and #151 Sheridan buses. Divvy bike stations are located at Bryn Mawr & Lakefront Trail, and at Broadway & Ridge at Bryn Mawr. The metered street parking pay boxes on Bryn Mawr have a three-hour maximum duration and are free on Sundays. There are additional details about parking and dining options at www.citylit.org.
City Lit is supported by the MacArthur Funds for Arts and Culture at the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, the Ivanhoe Theater Foundation, the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, the Illinois Arts Council Agency and is sponsored, in part, by A.R.T. League.
For more information and to donate, visit www.citylit.org and by phone at 773-293-3682